


better swim before you drown

by nooraskam



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hollywood, Bands, College Student Clarke Griffin, F/F, Music, Musician Lexa (The 100), Song: Carolina (Harry Styles), Song: Kiwi (Harry Styles)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-15 09:47:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16060559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nooraskam/pseuds/nooraskam
Summary: "So, she didn't know you wrote the song about her?""No, she didn't know at first. The only reason she found out was actually because her dad watches the Today show in the morning. He left her a voicemail, and that's how she knew."orLexa drops her first solo album featuring a song about Clarke.





	1. Chapter 1

"And we're back on the Breakfast Show with Anya this morning. That was Carolina by Lexa Woods, track number three off her new self-titled debut album. We're continuing the album listening party with none other than Lexa herself here in the studio with us," Anya said, flashing one of her best friends a smile. "I think that might be my favorite song of the album."

Lexa laughed into the microphone as she adjusted the headphones on her head.

"So, it's obviously about a girl, and I'm assuming she's got family in Carolina."

"Clever one you are," Lexa joked. "Yes, it's about a girl whose from Carolina This was actually the last song to make it on the album. I was on the edge on whether or not I should include it."

"And you did."

"And I did," Lexa agreed. 

"Alright, I've got the lyrics on the screen here in front of me," Anya said, glancing at the computer screen to get right. "And it says halfway through the song that you met her once and wrote a song about her. It's that true?"

"Yes, but we've spoken a few times since the song was written," Lexa said, a little hesitant on answering the question, though she knew that her friend wouldn't feed her to the sharks. 

"How'd she react when she listened to the song? You performed it live on the Today show last week."

"I don't know actually," Lexa chuckled. "I don't know if she listened to the album at all."

"So, she didn't know you wrote the song about her?"

"No, she didn't know at first. The only reason she found out was actually because her dad watches the Today show in the morning. He left her a voicemail, and that's how she knew."

Anya let out a bark of laughter. "Oh, my God."

"An interesting situation, I agree," Lexa said.

"Do you just write songs without telling people? Is that a thing for you? I mean, who wouldn't love to have a sing written about them by Lexa Woods?" 

Lexa merely shrugged and grinned. "I mean, yeah, keep it silent. It's more surprising and fun. I don't know if I'll make a habit out of it."

"Funny you should say that, because Two Ghosts is the next track on the album, and the internet is already gossiping about who it could be about," Anya mysteriously hinted as the beginning notes began to play. 

:. :. :. 

LEXA WOODS DAILY

NEWS UPDATE: Lexa confirmed on the Breakfast Show that Carolina, her third song off her self-titled debut solo album, is about a girl she met from Carolina. The unnamed girl had no idea the song was written until her father found out during Lexa's live performance on the Today show last week.

**sarcasmobviously** : wow, I had nooooo idea it was about a girl from Carolina. I thought she had Italian roots -_-

**lexastannn** : omg who could it be

**woodswoodswoods** : fuck, I've got my aunt in Carolina. ughhh Lexa write a song about me

**sexalexa** : honestly, it's none of our fucking business. this is the first time we've heard her sing in two years, in a band or not. let's just enjoy it and support her instead of digging into it. this is why every fandom thinks Lexa stans arw crazy 

**lexaluvme** : the song is so good. my fav off the album!!! and same ^

**woodforlexa** : fuck, why does she have to be gay

**kiwicigarette** : piss off you creep. don't ruin the one gay icon we have. she's the closest thing we have to a Harry styles. 

**woody22782** : why is towns spelled so weird on the website 

**lexasqwuad** : what do u mean

**woody22782** : look up the lyrics on her website. towns is spelled with an e lexawoods.com/music/lyrics/lexawoods/kiwi/

**lexasqwuad** : is there a british spelling for towns?  


**sexalexa** : HOLY SHIT, WOODY! THAT'S A NAME! SHE NAME DROPPED HER!! MYSTERY GIRL'S NAME IS TOWNES!!! ALERT @LEXAWOODSDAILY WE KNOW HER NAME

**LexaWoodsDaily** : URGENT UPDATE! Thanks to some sluething fans, an overlooked detail has been discovered about the 'Carolina girl' from the official published lyrics on Lexa's website. What Lexa fans thought to be towns in the lyrics is actually Townes, which may be the name of the Carolina girl. 

:. :. :.

"Wow, they were fast," Clarke said as she scrolled through the Twitter thread. 

"What?" Octavia asked, making weird faces as she snapchatted her brother. 

"They found out my name."

Octavia rolled her eyes. "The lyrics were published on her website. Any idiot could've figured that out. At least it's your middle name, though. I think there's more girls in the world with the name Townes than there are Clarke."

"It's what Grammy calls me, though."

"Your grandma who lives on the other side of the country in a town with a population barely more than the amount of kids at our school," Octavia reminded her.  

"Yeah, but you're taking about Lexa Woods' fans. She once mentioned in an off-handed comment in an interview the name of her favorite flower shop in New York, and the store saw sales quadruple within a week."

"Yeah, okay, you got me," Octavia shrugged stealing one of Clarke's fries, which earned her the stink eye. "Love you. Plus, aren't you a hard core fan? I mean, I enjoyed her band's music when they were together, and her new album rocks, but don't act all high and mighty, Ms. I-love-Lexa."

"I'm not saying that. I like their music, I always have, but it kind of feels silly and awkward to read all about them on social media now that I've met Lexa."

"Anybody can say they met her, but you kind of know her now, right?" Octavia asked, raising a brow at Clarke before opening another snap from her brother. "Literally five feet separates our beds, and noise canceling headphones don't block out everything."

Shit. Octavia has her right where she wanted her. "You're a sneaky little shit."

Octavia grinned, half aimed at Clarke and half towards her phone camera as she sent a picture of her face with the dog filter back to her brother. 

Clarke sighed. "Well, you were with me when I met her at the party. You heard the first five minutes of our conversation before you got bored and went to find your brother."

"You can't blame me. You guys were boring as fuck. I don't understand how you brought up garage sales two minutes after meeting each other." 

"You were there."

"An Octavia filter comes down after the first sign of boredom."

"I don't understand how I'm friends with you," Clarke muttered. 

"Oh, my God, whatever. Just continue."

"I mean, there wasn't much to it. We only spoke for forty minutes, an hour tops, and then my mom called me. Then, I came looking for you, and we left."

"And she just wrote a song about you after only talking to you for an hour? When did you call her after that? How did she get your number?" 

Clarke hesitated, and that made Octavia look up from her phone. 

"Clarke?"

"I turned around for ten seconds, and she managed to slip her number in my phone case. I didn't find it until seven months later when my case broke."

Silence. 

"HOLY SHIT, CLARKE!" 

Clarke groaned. "Oh, my God. Shut up."

Octavia tossed her phone aside, ignoring her brother to focus all her attention on Clarke, which made Clarke groan even louder. 

"I should be pissed that you're telling me this a year after it happened, but whatever. When did you call her?"

"You remember the movie that she was in?" 

"Yep," Octavia said, then gasped. "Did you call her when she was filming? If you turned down premiere tickets, I will kill you."

Clarke bit her lip. 

"DAMMIT, CLARKE!" 

:. :. :.

"She called you during the press tour for the movie?" Anya asked in surprise. "What was that, seven months of radio silence?" 

"I did put my number in a place she wasn't likely to check, so that was partly on me," Lexa admitted. "Still, I think I liked that it happened that way. After the party, I flew to Jamaica for a few weeks to write, then I spent three months in the water filming, then a little break with my mom, stepdad, and brother before going back to writing and recording to finish up the album. I was stressing about the album before filming, and she hadn't called, so it was really throwing me off, but I'm glad recording the album and filming was all done before I had time to focus on her."

"Did you offer her tickets?" 

"Yeah, but she turned me down," Lexa said with a shrug. 

Anya chuckled. "So, what after that? Did you meet up after the premieres were over and things quieted down a little?" 

Lexa shook her head. "Around that time was the end of her summer break. She was leaving for uni, and my brother had his surgery, so it was phone calls."

"You're such a geezer for not texting."

Lexa smiled. 

"You're brother is doing better now, though, right?" 

"Yeah, yeah. He's been doing physical therapy for months after his surgery, and the doctor cleared him for intense workouts two months ago. He's been back in the batting cages for a while."

"Good, I'm glad," Anya said softly. "Are you going to see her? Clarke, right?" 

"Yeah," Lexa smiled. "There's this hole-in-the-wall restaurant she's been working at since high school. They usually close at ten on Wednesdays, but she's a manager and closing that night, so I'm meeting her there at ten-thirty."

"If this isn't the start of some epic love story, I'm gonna be pissed."

:. :. :.

The parking lot was empty save for Lexa's Jeep, a red Tesla that was getting ready to pull out of the lot, and a black Prius at the far end of the parking lot. Lexa pulled her baseball cap further down on her head, not risking the slightest chance that someone would recognize her. She waited until the Tesla pulled out of the parking lot and turned the corner before climbing out of her jeep and making her way to the restaurant. 

The neon lights in the window had long since been turned off, and the only indication that there was anyone inside was the faint lighting towards the back of the restaurant. Lexa knocked on the door three times, sweeping her eyes around the parking lot as she waited for Clarke to open the door.

"Don't think I recognize that baseball logo," Clarke said, making Lexa grinned as she turned to find the blonde standing in the Now open doorway. 

"South Carolina has no professional baseball teams, so I don't think you'd recognize any," Lexa teased. 

"I know the Dodgers, but that's about it," Clarke said, taking the next few moments to smile and stare at Lexa, the latter mirroring her actions. "Hi."

"Hello," Lexa greeted, waiting a beat before engulfing Clarke in a hug. "I think this is the second time we've hugged."

"Also the second time we've seen each other in person," Clarke chuckled before pulling the from Lexa's embrace. "Come in, you must be hungry."

"Are you wining and dining me tonight? I must say, I'm impressed."

Clarke rolled her eyes playfully. "Shut up and move, Woods."

Clarke locked the door and pulled the shutters down after Lexa walked in, then led Lexa to the back of the restaurant to an office inside the kitchen. A few plates of Korean food were sitting on the small coffee table, warm and ready to eat.

"Take a seat," Clarke said, patting the seat next to her as she sat down on the couch. "I'm really sorry about the late night meetup. It's the end of the semester, and things be been crazy. I'm either in class, studying, or working, and this was the only time I had."

"Hey, it's cool. I totally get it," Lexa promised. "So, what do you have for me?" 

"It's a modernized Korean restaurant, so we've got bibimbap, bulgogi, and some seaweed salad." 

"This looks good, thanks," Lexa said, taking a few moments to eat the first couple of bites of her food. "This is delicious."

"Glad you like it. We have awesome Korean barbecue, too, but again, I'm really sorry about the schedule thing–" 

"Hey, I told you it's cool. I've dined in stranger places," Lexa promised. "How've you been? You look exhausted."

Clarke sighed. "Pre-med is kicking my ass."

"Why don't you cut back on your hours at work?" Lexa asked her. "You're a full time student and work full time. You're going to burn yourself out at this rate, Clarke."

"I can't," Clarke sighed. "I need the money."

"For what? Whatever the scholarships and grants didn't cover, your parents did."

Clarke was silent for a moment. "There's this girl in my chemistry class this semester, Raven. She's double majoring in CS and electrical engineering, and taking a lot of science classes on top of that. Anyway, we're lab partners in chem, and recently came up with this cool idea for prosthetics. We've proven the concept, but don't want to raise debt or get any outside funding, so we're both working to finance it ourselves."

"What's the idea?" 

"It's a prosthetic, but the technology revolves around how smooth the movement and how smart the prosthetic is when it comes to holding or picking up objects, like a cup or a pen. We're doing a Kickstarter, too, so that helps. I'm only working crazy hours for another week, and then I'm quitting. I already told the owners."

Lexa nodded, and the two of them sat in silence for a few moments to eat their food. 

"How's Aden? Is he still at the batting cages?"

"He won't leave, and it's driving my mom insane. He goes there straight after school everyday."

"It must suck for him, though. I tore my ACL in high school and had to quit lacrosse my junior year."

"You played lacrosse?" 

"Yeah, but there weren't any good teams where I was until we moved to LA."

"Can you play now, though? It's been two years, right?" 

"Yeah, but I was recovering my senior year, and I wasn't really going for an athletic scholarship, so I didn't really care that I couldn't play in college. I golf now with my dad. He makes fun of me and says my knees went bad before his, though."

Lexa laughed at the image.

It was quiet for a moment as the two of them continued to eat their late-night dinner, until Clarke spoke up. 

"I listened to it."

Lexa lifted her head. 

"Your album, I mean. In full," Clarke said. "It's different, definitely not like what you did when you were in the band. You guys did get more of a rock sound with your last two albums, though."

"I'm technically still in the band," Lexa pointed out. 

Clarke rolled her eyes. "Not when you've all signed solo contracts and haven't released an album together in three years. Half of you are going on your own tours."

Lexa smiled. "What did you think of it?" 

"I loved it," Clarke admitted. "It reminded me of all the stuff I grew up listening to with my dad. It's not just one artist's influence, either. You've got a couple of different styles mixed in there, too."

"Thank you."

There was a brief pause before Clarke asked her next question. "When did you write the song?" 

Lexa didn't have to ask which one. "It was one of the first ones I wrote, but I wasn't sure if it was going to make it on the album. Did you like it?" 

"You'd have to be a bit of a fool to ask that, Lexa."

"At least I'm a fool with big dreams."

Clarke smiled as Lexa took Clarke's hand between her own and began to play with it. "I loved it, Lex. Thank you."

:. :. :.

"You're so lame," Octavia groaned after listening to Clarke's retelling of the night before. "You guys didn't even kiss!" 

"I dated, like, two people in high school. Neither of them last more than a month. What did you expect?" 

"I don't know. Maybe sex, drugs, and rock n' roll?" 

"This isn't the seventies, and she's not Mick Jagger."

"Well..."

"Mick Jagger has a dick."

Octavia wiggled her brows at Clarke. 

"I'm firing you as my roommate."

"Love you, Clarke."

"Mm, sure," Clarke said, rolling her eyes playfully. She glanced at the time on her phone and said, "shit, I'm going to be late meeting Raven if I don't leave now."

"Fine, go and be nerdy with Rae," Octavia dramatically huffed. 

"I still don't understand I ever introduced you two," Clarke muttered loud enough for Octavia to hear. 

"You're just jealous we go out to brunch without you," Octavia teased.

"Whatever," Clarke chuckled on her way out the door, backpack in hand. "Say hi to Bellamy and Echo for me."

"Fuck," Octavia cussed after the door closed behind Clarke, completely forgetting she was supposed to have lunch with her brother and his wife. She grabbed her phone, purse, and keys before walking out the door, dialing Bellamy as she locked the door.

"Let me guess," Bellamy said in lieu of a greeting. "You're not even in your car yet."

"Sorry, sorry, sorry. I got back from class and caught up with Clarke's love life, so I lost track of time," Octavia said as she raced through the halls of the building and out of the door. "I'm on my way now."

"Clarke is dating someone?" Bellamy asked, surprise evident in his voice.

"Yes. Kind of. Long story," Octavia told him as she finally reached her car. "Easier to tell you in person."

"Okay, but you better hurry. We're making pie, and I might finish it all if you're late."

"Save me a piece, asshole," Octavia told him before she hung up and started her car.

Twenty minutes later, Octavia passed through the gates to Bellamy's protected neighborhood. Had her brother not been a famous actor that was stalked by the paparazzi more often than any of them would've liked, she would've told him his choice in neighborhoods was excessive, especially since they didn't move out of Jordan Downs until Octavia was ten. Bellamy had gotten his lucky break and impressed a director after spending weeks tracking him down, earning enough money from his first role in a major film to get a decent place for his sister and mom as he chased bigger roles.

Luckily for Octavia, Bellamy's house was at the end of the second block from the gates (unnecessarily long blocks that had one or two houses each, but blocks, nonetheless). She passed through the gates to her brother's property and before she parked her car next to Bellamy's Jeep, Echo's Tesla, and a CRV Octavia didn't recognize.

Octavia killed her engine and grabbed her things before letting herself into her brother's house, already smelling what might've been shrimp fried rice.

"There better be some pie left!" Octavia yelled as she made her way to the kitchen, pausing in the doorway when she realized three people were already in there. 

Echo was answering emails on her laptop at the kitchen island, and Bellamy was next to her reading from a stack of scripts. What surprised Octavia the most was that Lexa stood across from them tossing a salad. 

"Um, hi," Octavia said awkwardly to Lexa as she walked into the kitchen. 

Bellamy looked up from the script in his hands. "Hey, O. You've met Lexa, right?"

"Yeah, last year. I'm Clarke's friend," Octavia told her, trying to get the message across that she knew all about the two of them.

"Right, nice to see you again," Lexa said, not flinching the slightest bit.

Octavia walked over to her brother and his wife to give them both hugs hello.

"Lexa's crashing with us until she leaves for tour in a few weeks," Bellamy told her. "And the pie is still in the oven. Don't worry."

"Don't you have your own place?" Octavia asked, causing her brother's eyebrows to shoot up. "Sorry, it sounded ruder than I meant."

Lexa chuckled, unbothered by the question. "It's okay. Yeah, I bought a place here last year, but I haven't been in it once. I think I'm going to sell it."

"Why?"

"Well, like I said, I haven't been in it, and it's been over a year, so I'm pretty sure I'm not going to use it. The paparazzi are always camped out there, hoping and waiting for me to show up. It's got a gate and security system, but it's not a gated community like this one," Lexa told her as she added salt to the salad. "Plus, I like to crash at my friends' houses. It's like a sleepover."

"She's the perfect house guest," Echo said, finally closing her laptop and turning to her husband. "She cooks, she cleans, she goes grocery shopping. I don't know why I'm still keeping you around."

"Thanks, sweetheart," Bellamy deadpanned. "Not like we're married or anything."

"Salad's all done, and everything's on the patio, so let's go," Lexa said with a smile.

Ten minutes later, everyone had a full plate and was digging into their lunch, listening to Bellamy's script complications.

"I really like the characters, but the storyline is so bland. I fell asleep reading it last night," Bellamy said.

"Well, they're going to rewrite it, tight?" Octavia asked, feeling her mouth explode with flavor as she tasted the shrimp. "Hoy hell, this is so good."

"Thanks," Lexa chuckled. 

"It is good," Bellamy agreed. "But, about the script, I know a couple of people who worked with this guy before, and he's usually a stubborn ass about it. He's unlikely to change anything unless the production budget doesn't have room for whatever he wants to do. My agent is supposed to call me today about it, and I think I'm just going to pass on it."

"Well, they want you in it, right, babe?" Echo asked. "Try to negotiate and rewrite the script."

"Have you written stuff before?"

"Yeah, but I don't ask for credit."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Sometimes, it looks stupid to me."

Octavia and Echo both rolled their eyes.

"You're being dramatic. Five out of the last seven movies you ghost wrote had huge openings and were well-received. You should take credit for your own work," Echo told her husband.

Bellamy shrugged his shoulders, then changed the subject. "So, who's Clarke dating?"

Octavia's eyes widened. "She's not dating anyone."

That caught Lexa's attention.

"Yeah, you kind of told me that on the phone. Let me guess: it's complicated, right?"

"Uh, sure," Octavia answered, seeing Lexa grin in amusement at the conversation.

"I'm just surprised. When was the last time she had a boyfriend? Three years?"

Octavia rolled her eyes. "Okay, Sam was a dick. He doesn't count."

"Oh, shit, yeah. He's the one who roofied her drink at prom. Her dad was going to kill him. I've never seen him so mad."

"Wait, her ex tried to rape her at prom?" Lexa asked, and Octavia was hesitant at answering, but if the girl was interested in Clarke after a year of radio silence and wrote a song about her, she figured Lexa was at least a decent human being.

"Yeah, he wanted to sleep with her the first week they started dating, but she pushed him away because he was being so creepy about it, and he lost it. She figured it out halfway through when she realized he was groping her and she told me, so I called the cops and an ambulance before I told a teacher. Prom night 2016 was insane."

"What happened to him? What happened to Clarke?" Echo asked.

"A teacher rode with her in the ambulance and I tailed them in my car to the hospital that Clarke's mom works at. They pumped her stomach and admitted her overnight to make sure she'd be okay. He spiked her drink with tequila on top of drugging her."

"The fuck, was he trying to kill her?"

Octavia shrugged. "The cops arrested him and Sam's dad posted bail. Clarke's dad saw red when he found out, and hired a lawyer who managed to slap him with six years in prison for battery and a couple of other charges. The dumbass turned 18 a week before prom, so they tried him as an adult. I'm pretty sure if he'd actually raped Clarke, he would've been dead in a ditch before the trial."

"Damn, Jake seems so nice, though."

"He is. He's a great guy, but that's the only time I've seen him like that, and I've been friends with Clarke since we were thirteen. He doesn't even get mad, but he was livid at the time," Octavia said, pausing to take a drink of the smoothie Lexa made. Damn it, the girl was perfect for Clarke. "Clarke's an only child because Jake had to go through chemo right after she was born, so it killed their chances of having another kid," she told them, then stopped because she realized that she might've said too much. "So, Lexa, when does your tour start?"

Lexa picked up on the hint and rolled with it. "June. It'll be about two months here, and then four months in Europe and the rest of the Americas before two weeks in Australia. Then I go on a two month break before doing a round two of the tour, plus Japan and Korea."

"Wow, that's a long tour," Bellamy said.

"I guess, but it's on a better schedule than when I was in the band. I have more leg room with this one. I'm not going to try to record another album when I'm on tour, so that's something off my shoulders. I liked taking time to write and record without interruption last year."

"What are you going to do on your break in between touring?" Octavia asked, clearly doing some recon on behalf of Clarke.

"Spend some time here in LA, but also some time in New York with my mom, stepdad, and my brother."

"Well, your room is always here if you want to crash in between tours," Echo told her, smiling as they continued the rest of their lunch.

While Octavia and Bellamy were cleaning up a little while later, Lexa and Echo were drinking mojitos in the living room while discussing good vacation spots in Mexico.

"Hey, Bell, I need you to do me a favor," Octavia told her brother.

"Sure, what's up?"

"I need you to throw a dinner party on Friday. You don't have to cook or anything. Order in if you want."

"Okay, but why?" He asked, frowning in confusion as he gathered the forks.

Octavia looked back to make sure Lexa and Echo were still out of earshot before telling her brother. "Clarke and Lexa have been flirting for a while. Since they met at your party last year, actually. Well, ignoring seven months, but yeah."

"You guys were still minors."

"Oh, my God, stop being dramatic. Clarke's birthday was a week after the party and nothing happened anyway. They were talking for an hour and then we left."

"Okay, fine," Bellamy told her. "It'll kind of be awkward though. Shouldn't we invite more people if it's a dinner party?"

"I'll bring my friend Raven."

Bellamy furrowed his brows. "Have I met her?"

"Oh, shit, no. I need to stabilize her so she doesn't freak out."

"Okay, I'll invite a couple of my friends. You're making it seem like an ambush on Lexa," Bellamy chuckled. 

"Don't invite more than three people," Octavia warned him.

"What about Echo and Lexa? I mean, Lexa probably won't say anything, but Echo's going to want to invite some of her friends, and I'd feel like shit if I didn't let Lexa do the same."

"Ugh, this getting more complicated by the minute," Octavia groaned. "Fine, six people max. Two for each of the four of us. And let me know in advance what famous people show up so that I can prep Raven mentally."

"Done."

:. :. :.

"Your brother is who?" Raven asked Octavia, not exactly sure that she heard her correctly the first time.

"Bellamy Blake. Stay with me Raven," Octavia said, worried that her friend would faint at a moment's notice. She wouldn't be surprised if Raven did. It wouldn't have been the first time. 

"Damn, are there any more Blake siblings? You've all got some killer genes. What the fuck did your parents do?"

Octavia laughed. "No, it's just me and Bellamy."

"Does Clarke know?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, Clarke and I have known each other since middle school. She's known Bellamy since he his third role or so. He wasn't that big yet," Octavia said. "Anyway, the reason I told you is because my brother is throwing a dinner party next weekend to get Clarke and her girl together, and I need backup."

"Oh, wow. I didn't know Clarke was seeing someone. What's her name? Is she related to you guys?"

"No, and her name is Lexa Woods."

"THE FUCK?"

Octavia winced at Raven's shout.

"How many famous people do you guys know?"

"I don't know. I don't count them," Octavia chuckled. "We usually meet them through my brother."

"Anybody else that's famous and coming to this dinner party that you haven't name dropped already?" Raven asked, reaching for her coffee. Clarke was at a biology lab, and Octavia and Raven had just gotten back from brunch.

"Anya Lachman, who's a radio host for—"

"—KISS-FM, the biggest radio station in LA. Of course," Raven rolled her eyes. "Who else?"

"Uh, Lincoln Pine? I've never heard of him, but my brother says he's a well-known actor in Europe and he just moved here two months ago for his debut American role in some huge production that comes out in October, apparently," Octavia said with a shrug of her shoulders. "And Bellamy's wife, is a partner at some tech venture capitalist firm, so she invited one of the other partners and his wife."

"What's her name?"

"Echo Snow."

Raven choked on her coffee, and coughed until she could breathe again.

"Are you okay?" 

"Echo Snow is your SISTER-IN-LAW?"

"Wow, one of the non-famous people gets your attention."

"Dude, I'm a tech nerd. Of course I care about a tech VC more than a bunch of actors. Echo founded and sold a biomedical device company for three hundred million dollars without raising a penny. She's a huge role model to me. No wonder she has so many followers on twitter. It's because of your brother. Oh my God, I'm a dipshit. How did I not connect this any sooner?"

"Raven, focus," Octavia said, slightly annoyed as she snapped her fingers in front of the Latina's face.  "Freak out about Echo all you want when you meet here. We have to talk strategy right now."

"Fine," Raven sighed. "So, you're basically trying to pimp Clarke?"

"You make me sound like a female Riff Raff," Octavia said in distaste. "They've been flirting for a year, more or less. We met her last year at one of my brother's parties, and they clicked really well. There was seven months after that where they didn't talk, and then reconnected. Lexa offered to take her to one of the premieres for the movie she was in last year—"

"Holy shit, that's so cool."

"Clarke turned her down."

"What? Is she stupid?"

"That's what I said! Anyway, she has her reasons, but they saw each other in person last week, and yeah. Now, I'm trying to speed up the development because I sure as hell am not getting any, and I need to live vicariously through someone."

"Okay, I'm in. What's the plan?"

"This is what I have so far..."


	2. Chapter 2

"Now that I think about it, have you even meet Bellamy?" Clarke asked Raven, putting down her hairbrush as she turned towards the Latina texting on her phone. 

"Nope, but there's a first time for everything," Raven told her, hitting send before she locked her phone and gave her full attention to Clarke. "By the way, I am loving this dress on you."

Clarke smiled. "Thanks."

It was an impulsive decision she made after having lunch with her mom, but she was glad she bought the dress. If her mom hadn't encouraged her (and paid for it), Clarke would've left it at the store without a second glance.

Octavia walked back into their dorm room at that moment, heading straight for the bottle of Advil on her desk. "The one day this week I decide to wear a dress, Aunt Flo comes to visit."

Clarke and Raven both grimaced.

"Ouch. Sorry, chica," Raven said.

Octavia popped and swallowed two pills without water or a second thought. She grabbed her keys, phone, and purse, making sure she had an extra tampon in there. "Whatever. It is what it is. Let's go before LA traffic hits us."

Octavia made sure to lock the door after the three of them walked out. For once, they got ready pretty early (by Octavia's standards), which Clarke thought was a little weird for the brunette, but she shrugged it off as they made their way to Octavia's car in the parking lot. Students usually weren't allowed to have their cars on campus as freshman, but Echo's brother was on the university's board, and they managed to get away with it.

"So, you never really told me who else is coming to this dinner party," Clarke said, buckling in her seatbelt as Octavia started the car. 

"A couple of Bellamy's and Echo's friends. I think you've met all of them, except for one or two. There aren't many people there to begin with," Octavia said, avoiding eye contact with Clarke as she pretended to busy herself with getting ready to drive. "Are you guys all buckled in?"

After getting confirmation from the two of them, Octavia backed her car out of the parking space and began driving to her brother's house. Octavia brought up the prosthetic project Clarke and Raven were working on to distract the blonde, and it worked until Octavia started driving up her brother's driveway and realized she forgot a huge detail. Lexa's car was parked in her brother's driveway.

Octavia tried to peek out of the corner of her eye to get a look at Clarke, but thankfully, the blonde was distracted by her phone, trying to look up an article she'd read a week earlier. Octavia took this opportunity to park as far away from Lexa's car as she could.

"Whatever, I can't find it," Clarke said, locking her phone and unbuckling her seatbelt after Octavia killed her engine. "I'll look for it later and text it to you, Rae."

"Cool," Raven said, and the three of them made their way out of Octavia's car and inside Bellamy's house. 

The number of cars outside and the voices inside told them they were the last to arrive. Rock music was playing at a relatively low volume when they walked in. Octavia and Raven watched Clarke's expression go from impassive to surprised when she spotted Lexa inside talking to Anya and John Murphy, one of the other partners at Echo's VC firm.

Without looking at Octavia and Raven Clarke leaned in and whispered, "I had a weird feeling about this whole thing, and now I know it's because you two set this up."

"Hey, if you get pissed, it's Octavia's idea. I just went with it," Raven said, holding her hands up in defense.

Clarke sent the Latina a flat look. "I'm not pissed, but I'm gonna have a talk with you two about this later."

"Wow, you're early," Echo said once she spotted the girls. She looked at the time on her smartwatch, and said, "I wasn't expecting you for _at least_ another fifteen minutes."

"Thanks, Echo," Octavia said flatly, but perked up when she saw the drink in Echo's hand. "Is that a kiwi cocktail?"

"Yep, Lexa thought it would be hilarious to make them," Echo started handing one out to each of the three college students. 

Octavia had a thought come to her mind. "Are you playing music from your phone?"

Echo pulled her phone out of her pocket and passed it along to Octavia. "Knock yourself out."

While Octavia busied herself playing DJ, Echo turned to introduce herself to Raven. "Hey, Raven, right? I'm Echo, Bellamy's wife."

"Holy shit, I can't believe I'm meeting you," Raven said, enthusiastically shaking the hand Echo raised. Clarke smiled behind her drink. "I'm such a huge fan of yours. You're a fucking role model to me. Wait, fuck, I didn't mean to curse. Shit. I'm gonna shut up now."

Echo laughed as she let go of Raven's hand. "It's cool, and I'm honored that you think of me as a role model. I'm guessing you're a techie?"

"Yeah, I'm doing a double major in CS and electrical engineering."

"That's cool, power to you. Are you working on anything outside of school?"

"Yeah, Clarke and I are working on a smart prosthetic," Raven said, and Echo turned in surprise at an embarrassed Clarke. 

"How come you didn't tell me you were working on something so cool?"

"It's still a prototype, and Raven and I agreed on not getting any VC investments. We're trying to crowd-fund the project," Clarke said. "You know I think you're great at what you do, but we didn't want to feel pressured to grow by investors."

"To be honest, we all know that most startups fail, and hardware is hard as shit," Raven said. "We're looking to make a profit right off the bat, not have a growth-first mindset. We're going to crash into the ground if we do that."

The music abruptly stopped, and Lexa's voice came through the speakers. All conversation in the room stopped, and Lexa turned and finally noticed Octavia with Echo's phone in her hands, rocking along to Kiwi. Everyone in the room laughed, and Lexa's eyes brightened up when she realized Clarke was at the party.

"I'm having your baby," Octavia sang aloud, jamming along to the beat of the song. "It's none of your business."

The brunette took a sip of her cocktail before putting down her and Clarke's, only to pull the blonde a few feet away and start dancing. 

Bellamy walked into his kitchen, smiling when he saw his sister dancing with Clarke. He joined his wife and Raven, who didn't notice him as she pulled out her phone to film a video of her kiwi cocktail, then Clarke and Octavia dancing to Kiwi, then at Lexa's face smiling in amusement as they watched the two of them before cutting the video off. 

"Hey," Bellamy said to Raven, whose eyes widened when she saw Bellamy next to her. "I'm Bellamy, Octavia's brother. Raven, right? You're not going to post that anywhere, are you?"

"Uh, no," Raven said, a little starstruck at the interaction. "I was going to send it to Clarke and Octavia."

"Okay, cool. If you are going to post it, please talk to Lexa about it first. We're usually a little touchy about people taking pictures and posting them online without us knowing. Lexa really likes her privacy, and that's kind of hard when she's really well known."

Raven nodded her head, and she could see Anya Lachman nudging Lexa across the room, motioning to Clarke and Octavia. Lexa shook her head, and Anya rolled her eyes before leaving her friend to join Clarke and Octavia's air guitar battle. 

"Yes, rock it, sister!" Octavia exclaimed. 

"Oh, my God, O," Bellamy groaned, facepalming.

"Let her enjoy it. It's a good song," Echo said, smacking her husband lightly on the arm as she looked at her phone. "There's thirty seconds left, anyway."

As the song ended and transitioned to Mr. Blue Sky, Clarke, Octavia, and Anya all high-fived each other. The doorbell rang, and Bellamy went to answer it. 

"I've been wanting to have an air guitar battle since I heard it," Anya told the two of them. "Good stuff, ladies."

"I know, right?" Octavia said as Clarke walked back to grab their cocktails, handing Octavia her own glass.

"Lincoln brought the food," Bellamy said, walking into the kitchen with a tall, muscular man behind him. Both were carrying catering orders from the mediterranean restaurant that Bellamy and Echo frequented. 

"Hubba hubba," Octavia muttered, drinking her cocktail as she stared at the beast of a man in her brother's kitchen. Clarke nudged her and shook her head. "What?"

"Here, I can set up. You should probably introduce everyone now that Lincoln is here," Echo said, grabbing two of the bags her husband was carrying as Lincoln and Bellamy set the rest of them on the kitchen island.

"Thanks, babe. I'll help you in a bit," Bellamy said, turning to his guests as Echo went to set up the food on the table outside. "Thanks everyone for being here. We'll feed you in a few minutes. There's no special occasion for this dinner party. We just wanted to hangout with friends. Since you all probably don't know each other, I'll introduce you." Bellamy put a hand on Lincoln's shoulder, beginning with him. "This is my friend, Lincoln. He's from London, and moved out here not too long ago after getting the lead role in a TV show that's coming later this year."

A few congratulations went around, and Lincoln smiled and thanked them all. Octavia's starting didn't cease until Bellamy put his arm around his sister.

"This is my sister, Octavia. If she annoys you, I claim zero responsibility," Bellamy said.

Octavia shoved him and stuck her tongue out at her brother. "Dick."

"This is Clarke, Octavia's best friend. I like her better than my sister."

"Aw, thanks, Bell."

"I'm gonna call mom and tell her to disown you."

"I'm the favorite child, so not gonna happen," Bellamy told her, joking with his sister. "And this is Raven, Clarke and Octavia's friend."

"Hey," Raven said, saluting everyone else, realizing that John Murphy was also at the dinner party.

"John is one of Echo's business partners, and Emori, his wife," Bellamy continued. "Anya is a host at KISS-FM, and Lexa you probably know from Grounders. Her album is great, listen to it if you haven't already."

"Shameless plug," Lexa chuckled. 

"I got your back," Bellamy winked. "Alright, I'm gonna help Echo set up. Grab your drinks if you want, and meet us on the patio."

Bellamy hurried to join his wife set up the food, and by the time everyone made it outside, everything had been set up. Anya, Octavia, and Raven had somehow read each other's thoughts, because they'd managed to hurry ahead and leave the only two seats open next to each other after everyone else sat down. 

"So, your friends know?" Lexa whispered as she and Clarke sat down next to each other. 

"By their childish behavior, yes," Clarke said. "Anya, too, I'm guessing?"

"Unfortunately," Lexa joked. "Your last day at work was yesterday, right? How'd that go?"

"Uneventful, except one of the owners cried before I left," Clarke said, a small smile on her face. "She's really sweet. I'm gonna miss her. I've been working there since I was in high school, and she doesn't have any kids, so I was kind of like a surrogate daughter for her. She's really excited about what I'm working on, though. Her brother lost his arm in the Korean War, so she's rooting for Raven and I."

"That's so cute," Lexa told her, thanking Anya, who passed a container of hummus their way. "Want some?"

"Sure," Clarke said, watching Lexa dole some out for the two of them before Clarke passed it to Raven, who was on her left. "Did you get here early? Echo said you made the cocktails."

"I'm actually crashing with Bellamy and Echo until the tour starts," Lexa told her, taking the quinoa salad from Anya. "Remember how I told you last week the paparazzi are always outside of my house?"

"Oh, yeah. I can see why," Clarke said, taking the bowl of quinoa salad after Lexa was done to add onto her own plate. "This is super off-topic, but I love food."

"Good thing you're at a dinner then," Lexa chuckled. "Do you have that video of the prosthetic working?"

"Oh, yeah! Good thing you reminded me," Clarke said, handing the salad bowl to Raven, who was preoccupied talking to Echo. Lexa grabbed a couple of sliced of bread for herlself and Clarke while the blonde pulled out her phone to look for the video. "Thanks. Perfect timing that I'm showing it to you now. I meant to text it to you earlier, but I completely forgot. There's this physics professor from the university that we've been working with and slightly customizing the prosthetic for her needs, and we got this awesome video of her picking up stuff like a cup and a pencil. She was kind of able to write with it, too, so that was really cool."

Lexa took the phone from Clarke and played the video, watching a dark-skinned woman, whom Lexa assumed was the physics professor, pick up a cup from the table and lift it to her mouth to drink out of. It wasn't as smooth as it would have been with had it been with fully functioning arm, but it was still really cool to watch. 

"Rice and chicken okay?" Clarke asked, watching Lexa momentarily look up to see that everyone had started serving themselves. 

"Yeah, if you don't mind. Thanks," Lexa smiled, bringing her attention back to the video. "Why did you have her pick up a plastic cup? Weren't you worried the hand would crush it?"

"Oh, it did," Clarke said, serving some rice and chicken to Lexa's plate. "We've probably spent over a hundred bucks on plastic solo cups trying to test it to get the right grip. We smashed a lot of glass cups, too. We wanted the prosthetic to recognize when it was holding a plastic solo cup versus a glass cup, versus a ceramic cup, and so on."

"Hm," Lexa sounded, continuing to watch the rest of the video. After placing the cup down, the professor used the robotic arm to pick up the pen on the table. It took a couple of seconds for the robot to adjust the grip it had on the pencil, and Lexa could hear Raven instructing the professor to write on a piece of paper. It was interesting to see the professor press a button on the robotic arm, activating a voice assistant that listened to the words the professor wanted to write. The last part of the video fast forwarded, but the final few seconds showed the results of the writing, and although it was shaky, it was amazing to see this was what college undergrads were able to build. "That's really fucking cool."

Clarke smiled as Lexa passed the phone back. "Thanks. It's still a long way from being really functional, but I'm really proud of what we're working on."

"You definitely should," Lexa told her. 

"Hey, Clarke, was that the video of the prosthetic with Dr. K?" Raven asked from the other side of Clarke. "I want to show Echo, but I don't have it on my phone."

"Here," Clarke said, passing her phone over before turning her attention back to Lexa. "So, what's new with you this week?"

"Not much. I've been meeting with my agent and getting some stuff sorted out for the tour. We've figured out the opening acts for North America and Australia, and are finalizing the ones for Europe and Asia by the end of next week," Lexa told her.

"Cool. Anyone I would know?"

"Not sure. I'll text you some song links later," Lexa said, pausing to take a bite of her food. "Oh! I'm trying tour outfits Monday and Tuesday. Want to come see?"

"More YSL and Gucci?" Clarke teased, then hesitated. "I don't know. I have Monday off, but two classes on Tuesday. Plus, Raven and I were going to work on the prosthetic on Monday."

Raven chose that _exact_ moment to pop her head into their conversation. "Here's your phone back, Griff. By the way, I have a last minute study group sesh for my physics, so I'm gonna have to ditch tomorrow."

Raven smiled and gave Clarke a thumbs up to the blonde's unamused expression before turning back to Echo.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Lexa said, watching Clarke sigh as the blonde picked at her food. 

"It's not that I don't want to come," Clarke told her. "It's just—I'm not really ready for the whole invasion of privacy of thing. I was a fan of Grounders for years, and some people took it too far by literally hacking into airport cameras to watch you and the rest of the band in the departure lounge."

Lexa brought her lips to a thin line and nodded her head once. "That's fair, but I will tell you that the studio I'm going to is in an old warehouse, and the chances of anyone following me there are slim to none. Nobody knows I'm staying here except for my friends and you. If it makes you more comfortable, you can take your own car there."

Clarke looked up at Lexa, who had a hopeful smile on her face.

"I'd really like it if you came," Lexa said in a low volume. "Please."

"I really hate how charming your smile is," Clarke told her, reluctantly smiling. "Okay, I'll come on Monday, but no promises for Tuesday."

"I'll take it," Lexa said with a huge smile on her face.

The rest of the dinner went by without a hitch, and the entire group started conversing with one another instead of staying in their own little bubbles. While dessert was being passed around, Octavia suggested they take a group photo. 

"Bellamy needs his monthly Instagram post," she told everyone. 

"I literally don't understand the point of Instagram," Bellamy said.

"Your wife invested in Instagram. That's sad," Raven tsked, and further mocked Bellamy by shaking her head while the others at the table laughed. 

"Whatever," Bellamy rolled his eyes. "Who's taking the picture?"

"I'll do it," Clarke said, standing up without waiting for anyone else to object. She opened her camera app and waited for everyone to pose before taking the pictures. "Awesome. I'll text it to Bellamy and Echo so the rest of you can get it."

Clarke sent the picture to Bellamy, Echo, Octavia, Raven, and Lexa on her way back to her seat, then locked her phone and fell into conversation with Lexa and Anya about OutKast. Towards the middle of the conversation, Clarke got a couple of notifications that she'd been tagged on Instagram by Raven, Octavia, and Bellamy, and immediately went to mute Bellamy and Octavia's posts, knowing that a bunch of notifications were going to come in that she didn't need to see. 

People slowly began to leave half an hour later, and Raven and Octavia started helping Bellamy and Echo by cleaning up. Clarke followed Lexa to her room to look at the guitars she had up there. 

"Ooh, is this a Byrdland?" Clarke said, taking the guitar from Lexa and strumming a little. 

"Yeah, a little customized though," Lexa told her, listening as Clarke played a few notes from the beginning of Carolina. "You play?"

"Yeah, my dad taught me. He had a band in college," Clarke said, humming the chorus to the song as she played for a little. "I only ever learned by hearing, though. I can't read sheet music to save my life."

"That's a skill a lot of people would be envious of. I know I am," Lexa chuckled. "Shame you didn't end up doing anything with music. Not that there's anything wrong with what you're doing now."

"Eh," Clarke shrugged, handing the guitar back to Lexa. "Music is just a hobby. I do have my fair share of embarrassing songs that I wrote and recorded though."

"Now, this I have to see," Lexa said as she put her guitar back in place. 

"They're _never_ going to see the light of day," Clarke promised. 

"Mm, are you sure?" Lexa asked, standing much closer than before. "Not even for me?"

"You're a cocky little shit, aren't you?" Clarke laughed as Lexa circled her arms around the blonde's waist. 

"Occasionally," Lexa wiggled her brows.

Clarke bit her lip as she stared up at Lexa. "Kiss me."

"With pleasure," Lexa whispered, leaning in.

:. :. :.

"You were up there a while," Octavia said to Clarke, glancing at the goofy smile on her friend's face. 

"Shut up," Clarke said. "I'm still going to have that talk with you two."

"Is she a good kisser?" Raven asked, leaning over to nudge Clarke. 

"Without a doubt."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, this was really supposed to be a two part fic, but part three is in the works apparently?

**Author's Note:**

> There will be a part two, not sure when. Leave a comment with your thoughts!


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